Two Years Apart
by Kodou Kikoeru
Summary: After two years apart, Trunks comes home for two weeks during his Christmas vacation.  However, Goten and Trunks have both grown up and grown apart since they last saw each other.  Can they find how to rekindle the bond they once had?  Contains shounen ai
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters. This fanfiction contains male x male attraction.

I would very much appreciate any reviews. Thank you.

Chapter 1

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A pleasant warmth and the familiar hum from the TV awakened me, and I knew the date before I even opened my eyes. I rolled out of bed and stepped onto my messy floor, stretched, and then quickly hopped into the shower. As I got dressed, I allowed the intensity of the situation replay itself in my mind. I looked in the mirror and thought to myself that I had grown a full four inches taller in the last two years, and Trunks had perhaps grown a lot, too. I had not seen him in two years. Two entire years. But he would be coming home for two weeks, for Christmas.

The warmth of my room, I knew, was in stark contrast to the cold-but-not-quite-snowing outside temperature, so I wore an extra sweater and thick clothes. When I came downstairs, I saw my mom and dad (mostly my mom) setting up for the dinner we would be having with Trunks and his mom and dad tonight. I felt a little flushed from the excitement, and hoped I wasn't getting a cold; that would shave a week off of the time I had with Trunks, if Mom found out.

"Can I help?" I ask my mom, looking for something to occupy my hands and keep myself busy until six.

"Yeah, get some firewood so we can have coffee by the fire."

"All right," I respond, turning toward the door.

"Oh, and you're fifteen now, so if you'd like, you and Trunks can join us."

I'm not sure I can convey the sense of respect I associated with my parents' after-dinner coffee; it had always been an adults-only affair, and Trunks and I had always been shooed away. And though I imagined it to be boring adult stuff like politics and "kids today" that they talk about, the exclusiveness (however artificial) gave it this aura of mystery, and the invitation to join was clearly a show of respect. Needless to say it was a big deal, even if I'm not really a fan of coffee.

"Great!" I answered.

Mom responded with a smile.

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I had taken off my sweater in some sort of twisted self-dare to see if I could take the cold, and I dragged my feet as I brought in the firewood one log at a time. I was on my fourteenth log when I heard a car drive up and looked up to see the silhouettes of Bulma and Vegeta get out, followed by the silhouette of what appeared to be a much taller Trunks. I dropped the log and ran up to greet them.

"Goten!" Bulma said first. "How are you?"

"Fine," I immediately responded, not at all interested in Bulma, whom I saw nearly every day anyway. "Hey, Trunks," I said, waving slightly to him.

"Hey, Goten, what's up?" Trunks answered.

It was then that the enormity of Trunks's form hit me. Besides being what looked like a foot (but was actually seven inches) taller, his hair was longer, he wore sunglasses, a T-shirt, jacket, backpack, jeans, and a belt, and he was rolling an unlit cigarette between his fingers. My eyes widened a little at the cigarette but I immediately recovered and looked back to his face. "How have you been?"

Trunks shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's go inside," Bulma suggested, "Goten, you really should put on a sweater."  
I nodded.

Inside, Mom welcomed Trunks and his family, and we all sat down to eat. I didn't know what to say to Trunks to get him to start talking, but Mom took care of that anyway.

"So, are you liking your school, Trunks?"

Trunks nodded and poked at his food with his fork.

"How are your grades?"

"Almost straight A's," Bulma responded.

"Is that right? Well, I'm very impressed. And what's this about a girlfriend, I hear?"

My ears perked up.

"Well, not really a girlfriend, I..."

"Heh, always 'not really my girlfriend.' She's been 'not really his girlfriend' for four months now."

My fork almost falls from my hand.

"Mom, I...," Trunks began.

"Anyway, her name is Marron, and she's just as sweet as can be. She's very intelligent, too, and she's good-looking to boot."

Trunks sat there, rolling his eyes and blushing a little, moving his peas around with his fork. I was staring at him, but when he looked up at me, I immediately turned back to his mom.

My mom answered, "Sounds like you've got yourself a keeper, there, Trunks."

"Yeah, I guess," Trunks mumbled.

"Yeah, I guess," Bulma mocked, "These teenagers," she laughed, sipping her glass of wine.

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After dinner, I cleaned the plates off and our parents sat down by the fire for coffee. I went in to sit with them, but Trunks pointed his head in the direction of my bedroom. I considered whispering to him that it was okay for us to have coffee with them this year, but, to be honest, after dinner, I don't think he was interested in spending much more time with our parents, and personally, I was only interested in spending time with Trunks, so I followed him.

"Goten, where are you going?" Mom asked.

"Trunks and I are gonna watch a movie or something."

"Well, we probably need to be getting back pretty soon, Trunks."

"Then can I just spend the night here?"

Bulma squinted her eyes in thought and then looked to my mom, who shrugged her shoulders, turned to Trunks, and said, "Sure, you can spend the night."

We went up to my room, and I immediately sat down on my bed. Trunks sat down on the beanbag chair and lay down his sunglasses beside it. I scooted over to suggest Trunks sit by me, but he did not take the hint.

"So, Trunks,..." I began.

"Tora," he interrupted.

"Tora?"

"Yeah, everyone calls me Tora now."

"Tora, like tiger?" I asked, making a claw with my hands.

"Well, like short for Trunks, but yeah I guess."

"All right, 'Tora,'" I said, making the claw again. "So... you have a girlfriend?"

"Like I said, not really a girlfriend, but... yeah, this girl I like who kinda likes me."

"That's cool," I respond, perhaps nodding my head a little overzealously.

"Yeah, I guess," Trunks mumbled.

"Have you, ... have you done anything?" I asked meekly, mostly trying to make conversation.

Trunks made a face, and said, "That's really none of your business."

"Aw, come on, Trunks,..."

"Tora. Call me Tora."

"Why won't you tell me?" I say, really now just to see if I can get him to spill it.

"Why do you want to know anyway?"

"I don't know, I'm just curious."

Trunks huffed and then answered, "Yeah, we've done stuff. Let's just leave it at that."

Then there was a bit of silence, eventually broken by me asking, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Play a drinking game," came the answer, as Trunks threw off his backpack.

"A drinking game? What do you mean?"

"Like a game," Trunks started pulling bottles of beer out of the bag, "where you drink," he answered, handing the last one to me.

"A-All right. But I've never drunk alcohol before."

"It's not difficult," Trunks said, smiling, opening his beer, and taking a sip.

"Where did you get beer anyway?"

"It's my dad's."

"Won't he be mad?"

"Listen, are you going to drink?"

"Yeah, I mean, okay, I guess." I didn't particularly want to, but I wasn't really against the idea, either. Besides, if I drank, then he would drink, and if he would drink, maybe he would finally open up; he didn't seem to want to talk at all. And so I took the bottle to my lips and downed some of the bitter beverage. I smacked my lips a few times and then took another swig, closing my eyes.

"Want to watch a movie?" Trunks asked, interrupting my concentrating on finishing my drink.

"Yeah, what movie?"

"Let's see what you got here," Trunks said, laying down an empty bottle and flipping through my DVDs. He named a movie, I wasn't paying attention and said, "Okay," and he put it in.

He then got up and sat on my bed. I did the same. The movie started, and I put down my empty bottle and grabbed another.

We continued to drink--the beer became less bitter as the night went on--, and while we were watching the movie, I turned to Trunks and whispered, "You know, Trunks -- Tora, sorry -- I really missed you."

"I missed you, too, Goten."

I rested my head on his shoulder and felt my heart beat faster. Trunks wrapped his arm around my shoulder and took a swig of beer, resting the bottle back on the ground. Then I looked up into his eyes, moved his hair behind his ear, and leaned in to kiss him.

Trunks backed up quickly before our lips met, and knocked over his beer in the process, "Whoa," he said, and then looked down to see beer pouring out, "Oh shit," he said, standing the bottle upright and looking for something to soak up the beer. I jumped up to run to the bathroom, but as soon as I stood up I sat back down again from dizziness. I got up slowly and walked to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and getting down on hands and knees to wipe it up from the carpet.

"Sorry about that," Trunks said.

I nodded silently. After cleaning the beer up, I tossed the towel in the corner and sat back down by Trunks, leaving considerably more distance. We watched the movie without speaking for a while, and then Trunks sighed and piped up.

"Goten, we can't...," he sighed, "...we can't do that anymore, all right? We're grown up. I've got a girlfriend."

There was a little more silence, before I responded with the one argument that came to mind, "I thought you said that she wasn't really your girlfriend."

"That isn't the point. We just, ..."

I cut him off, calmly saying "I understand." I didn't, but I didn't want to hear anything that he might have wanted to say.

Another silence, and Trunks asked, "Where can I sleep?"

I was a little taken aback at the question, but didn't dare to go further into it. We had always slept in the same bed; it was easier and more comfortable that way. Somehow that wasn't allowed anymore.

"I have a sleeping bag in the closet; you can sleep on the floor if you want."

Trunks nodded, "Sounds good." He opened the closet and dragged out the sleeping bag. A piece of notebook paper fell from under it, and Trunks picked it up, glanced over it, and tossed it back into the closet.

"What was that?" I asked.

Trunks shook his head. "Nothing. Blank sheet of paper," he said, yawning. "I'm gonna go to bed. Night, Goten."

I rubbed my eyes a little, "Night, 'Tora,'" I said, making a claw and turning out the lights.

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End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or any of its characters. This fic contains male x male attraction.

I apologize for the great deal of time between Chapters 1 and 2 of this 5-chapter fic. Hopefully, future chapters will come out in a more timely fashion, but I can't make any promises. It was all because of the number of favorites, alerts, and reviews, though, that inspired me to keep this going, and so I encourage you to keep it up!

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Goten was the first to wake up the next day, and upon waking up, rolled over and saw Trunks asleep. He lay on his side as the sleeping bag gently expanded and deflated with each breath. Goten was entranced by the rhythmic, hypnotic motion, and smiled to himself sleepily. It was a source of comfort to watch Trunks sleep again.

Minutes later, Trunks stirred a bit and slowly lifted his eyelids. Goten did not tear his gaze away; watching him wake was the climax of the experience. Already facing Goten, Trunks looked up at the dark eyes glued to him.

"Good morning," Goten whispered.

Trunks closed his eyes tightly, and opened them again. "Yeah, morning. Why are you staring at me?"

Goten cocked his head to the side slightly, and stuck out his bottom lip in thought. "I don't know. I wanted to, I guess."

Trunks sat up and placed his hands in his lap. "It's weird. Cut it out."

"I always did that, though."

"And it was always weird," Trunks said, raising his voice slightly.

And then silence. Trunks got up and went to the bathroom to get changed, while Goten lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling. He could not understand why Trunks was put off by these things that were an integral and everyday part of the life they once shared. He sat up, letting his eyes follow the ceiling fan.

Trunks came back out of the bathroom a minute later, in new clothes: a pale blue shirt over a white T-shirt, and khaki pants. He bent over and grabbed his sunglasses, as Goten asked, "So... what do you want to do today?"

Trunks looked over at him, "Well," he began, "I'm going back to spend time with my parents and sister."

"Oh," Goten answered, "okay. Do you want to hang out later?"

Trunks was already headed out. "Ummm, yeah, maybe. I'll call you," he said, and with that, he closed the door.

And from that point until about 6:00 that evening, Goten was only passing time. It felt like a more intense version of how he had felt when Trunks had first left -- now he knew that Trunks was close by, but that he did not want to spend time with him. Or, at least, that he would rather spend time with his family.

But at 6:00, Trunks called and came over.

"So," Trunks said nonchalantly. "What do you want to do, Goten?"

"Whatever you want," he answered.

"Come on, let's do something, I guess. I have to be back by eight."

"Oh, you do?" Goten asked, his voice weakening. "I thought maybe you could spend the night again."

"No, sorry, Goten, I'd really just rather... I mean, I should probably spend my time home ... at home, you know?"

Goten slumped onto the couch.

"Well, do you want to hang out Or what?"

"Yeah, I guess," Goten answered, pulling himself back up.

"Then let's go. We'll go out back."

Goten gave a half-smile as they made their way to a spot in his backyard they had come to know as their own. The grass had grown taller, and it appeared untrodden, as Goten did not spend time out here anymore.

Trunks stomped down some grass to make a little patch for them to sit down. Goten gave a subconscious bow to him as he took his seat, and Trunks sat beside him. Goten automatically leaned over to rest his head on Trunks's shoulder, but stopped himself before making contact and reluctantly pulled away.

He caught Trunks's eyes shifting back up to the sky as Trunks said, "I forgot how much I liked this." Goten was staring at Trunks's profile and saw a hint of a smile crack across his face. "At school, it's always so busy. I never get to take a time out and just stare at stars."

Goten's urge to embrace Trunks was intense, but he refrained; he knew that it would evoke a negative reaction. However, he found it almost impossible to keep from observing his moonlit features, and so Goten gazed, not at the stars, but at their reflection in his icy blue eyes.

Trunks's eyes again slid toward Goten, before he turned his entire head to watch back. "What are you staring at, Goten?"

He snapped out of his reverie and looked past Trunks, hoping there would be some object in which he could feign interest. He remembered Trunks was not happy with his staring before. "Nothing," he answered resignedly.

Trunks turned back slowly and hesitantly, leaning back on his elbows. Goten caught a glimpse of tanned flesh peeking out from under his white shirt as it rode up, before averting his gaze and looking up at the sky with him. A thick silence hung in the air that tensed all of Goten's muscles, but Trunks thankfully broke it.

"Yeah, this is nice," he said softly. "I should bring Marron out here when she comes up."

The tension was gone, but Goten didn't feel any better. He turned to Trunks, collecting himself before asking, "Marron's coming?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I invited her up for a few days during the holidays. She's coming up Friday."

"Oh," Goten answered simply, and turned back up to the sky.

Trunks pushed himself into a sitting position, turned to Goten, and said, "What?"

"Hmm? I didn't say anything," Goten answered.

"You're pissed. Why?" Trunks asked, a tinge of impatience in his voice.

"Well, I mean, I thought I would get to see you more, you know? You get to see Marron all the time."

"No, I don't. Our school has curfew hours, not to mention homework. We don't get to spend as much time together as you'd think."

"Still more than with me," Goten sighed.

Trunks pulled his knee up to his chest before standing up. "Listen, I should head back home, it's getting late."

Goten stood up, too. "Are you sure you can't spend the night? I still have the sleeping bag all set up."

"Yeah," Trunks answered, "I'm sure. Night, Goten." And with that, he headed back home.

"Good night, Tora," Goten waved. He dropped his hand to his side and dragged his feet back to the house.

When he reached his room, he stared at the sleeping bag for a second, before bending down and rolling it up. He opened the closet door and threw it in, but the paper from the night before caught his eye. It wasn't blank, like Trunks said -- why would he lie? He bent down to pick it up and read it.

"Goten," it read, in what he recognized as Trunks's handwriting, "when you wake up, wake me up, too. You beter [sic not eat breakfast without me! Love, Trunks."

And at this, his heart felt like it had been pulled apart. He remembered this, though vaguely. It was a camping trip, both of their families had come. He didn't remember finding the note, but that would explain why it was still in the sleeping bag.

But he said "Love." Goten looked at the note again. Each of the letters was clear. Goten sat down, feeling a little unsteady, and still holding the note with both hands. He crawled into bed and held it to his chest, and fell softly into sleep.

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End Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or its characters. This fic contains male x male attraction.

Again, sorry for the time between chapter releases, but a lot of stuff is going on, and it will continue to go on. Keep the reviews and stuff coming, it's what keeps me wanting to write.

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"You're such a bonehead, Goten," he laughed, running a hand through his lavender hair. "But I love you anyway," he punctuated with a kiss on the cheek.

Goten smiled, quite embarrassed. "I love you, too, Trunks," Goten whispered, kissing him back. "And how was I supposed to know that bacon comes from pigs?"

"It's just something you're supposed to know, by the time you turn ten," he answered, lying back down on his sleeping bag and staring at the tent ceiling. After a brief pause, he said, "Come lie down with me, Goten," not looking away but patting the space next to him. Goten quickly obliged, and Trunks wrapped an arm calmly around his shoulder, leaned over, and kissed him on the forehead.

"How are you so smart, Trunks?" Goten asked sleepily and rhetorically. "You don't go to school, but you just know everything about everything."

"I guess my mom teaches me a lot of it," he answers, "and I don't know everything about everything," he said, drilling his fingers into Goten's side to tickle him and provoke a reaction.

Goten laughed a little in response, and then sighed elatedly, leaning his head back on Trunks's arm. "But if you went to school, you probably would," he thought aloud.

"Heh, I don't need to know everything, Goten. And I don't want to go to school if, ... well, if you're not there."

"I would suck at school," he mumbled. "I think we're fine the way we are," he smiled.

Trunks nodded and held Goten more closely. A rustling sound came from outside, and both boys brought their gazes to the door. The silhouettes of their mothers were just visible, and Goten quickly scooted to his own sleeping bag.

"Trunks," Bulma said in a firm tone. "Come out, I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Goten," came his mom's voice. "Get up. Get up, Goten."

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Goten became aware that his dream had been just that, and kept his eyes closed in order to savor the details he could remember. The entire dream, save for his mom's last lines, was true to fact; he remembered it vividly.

"Goten! Are you awake?" his mom asked again.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm up," he answered groggily and unhappy that he was back in the same situation as last night. He felt paper rustle in his hand and saw the now-crumpled note with which he had gone to sleep last night. He folded it neatly and lay it on his bedside table, undressed, and hopped into the shower.

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Trunks lifted the flap on the tent and crawled back inside. He smiled widely and his cheeks were stained a peculiar red, like it was cold outside, although it was actually quite pleasant.

"Hey Trunks," Goten smiled, seeing Trunks's smile. He was on his knees and rolled back and forth on them excitedly. "What are you smiling about?"

"Well," Trunks began in a strange voice. He cleared his throat and continued, "Well, I was thinking about it, about what you said earlier, and, you know, maybe school wouldn't be such a bad idea."

Goten stopped bouncing and sat back on his knees. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Trunks looked over to where they had put their bags and supplies, seeming to abstain from eye contact. "Well, I mean, ... look, I just talked to my mom, and she asked what I'm going to do with my life, and I told her I didn't know. And I know I'm only eleven, but if I get to be an adult, and I don't have any kind of school, then what am I going to do about getting a job?"  
Goten rearranged himself and crossed his legs in front of him. "Why don't you just get a job working at Capsule Corporation with your mom?"

Trunks smiled again, and still did not make eye contact. "Look, Goten, this is just something I'm going to have to do."

"But why?" Goten asked, standing up and walking toward Trunks. "Just this morning you said you'd rather stay with me."

"Just drop it, Goten!" Trunks yelled, louder than he can remember Trunks ever yelling. "I'm going to school. Starting in a couple of weeks. It's a done deal. Let's drop it." He punctuated that with crossing his arms.

Goten stood dumbstruck for a moment, both at his being yelled at and at Trunks's sudden change of heart. They both stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, and Trunks visibly gulped. The tiny sound brought the dark-haired boy out of his reverie, and he looked up at Trunks, who brushed some hair out of the side of his face he couldn't see.

"Trunks, I-... I mean, if that's what you want...," he began, walking toward him again. The older boy backed away in response. Goten pulled his hand back. Without another word, Trunks left the tent.

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Goten shook the water out of his hair, stepped out of the shower, and dried off. He hated that Trunks had gotten so angry at him so close to when he had to leave, and wondered briefly if that was why he was acting so distant now. He shrugged that thought off, though. Certainly two years was too long to hold a grudge like that.

He got dressed at a leisurely pace; there was nothing to do today. He considered calling Trunks, or Tora, rather, but Tora already seemed to be thinking of him as clingy, a feeling which Goten did not want to exacerbate.

Looking over at the bedside table, he decided to grab the Trunks note and stuff it into his pocket. He dragged himself downstairs, and then chided himself for moping. He threw himself onto the couch and turned on the television. A nature documentary was on, and the canopy made up of trees reminded Goten of a spot in the woods that Trunks and he would sometimes go. This is where Trunks took him to say goodbye.

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They arrived at their spot, an area deep within the woods, but marked by a circle of logs. This is where Trunks and Goten shared their first kiss. The older boy sat silently on a log, while Goten sat beside him.

"Goten, I go off to school tomorrow."

"I know."

They paused. "I'm going to miss you," Trunks said.

"I'm going to miss you, too."

Another pause. Trunks leaned over and rested a hand on Goten's knee. Goten looked up at Trunks, directly into his eyes, and smiled. Trunks smiled back, although Goten detected a falter.

"What's wrong, Trunks?"

"Nothing," he answered immediately.

"Tell me," Goten commanded, standing up.

"Nothing. I'm going to miss you. That's all."

Goten paused, and sat down. They sat in silence, and the ambient noise in the woods was surprisingly quiet. "Will you kiss me, Trunks?"

Trunks looked back at him and blinked. He shook his head.

"Wh-Why not?"

"Because I don't want to," he answered simply, looking at the ground.  
Goten blinked, and then turned to look at the dirt floor as well. "Oh, okay," he answered.

Trunks turned to him and watched. Goten looked back up, and Trunks leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Goten smiled, and returned the kiss onto his lips. Trunks wrapped his arms around him, and Goten felt what must have been a teardrop fall on his neck.

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Goten turned off the television and stared at the blank screen for a few minutes. He then pushed himself up, reached into his pocket, and felt the light crinkle of the note against his fingers. It was time to confront Trunks, he decided. It was time to ask what happened while he was at school to make him so distant.

He made his way the relatively short distance to the Capsule Corporation, where Trunks has a room.

"Hello, and welcome to Capsule Corporation," a secretary greeted cheerily, not looking up from her computer screen. "Business office is located on the..., oh, hi, Goten."

"Hey, Tracy. I'm just visiting Trunks."

"All right, you know the way," she said, and he proceeded to go up the stairs. Reaching the room and knocking on the door, a cute-faced blonde answered.

"Yes?" she said, holding the door so that only her head was sticking out.

Goten backed up a bit, "Oh, man, I'm sorry," he said, perhaps too loudly. "I must have the wrong room. I'm looking for--"

"Goten?" came a voice from inside. Trunks's voice. The girl opened the door more widely to reveal him, sitting on the bed, shirtless. She was wearing one of Trunks's shirts, which were much too large for her, and she did not seem to be wearing much else."So this is Goten," she said with a half-smile. "Nice to meet you, I'm Marron."

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End Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4

And we are back with Chapter 4 of 5. I apologize about the very long wait in between chapters 3 and 4. Six months is too too long. It was a very real possibility that I would abandon this story entirely after I lost my job with regular internet access. But here we are. I highly recommend that if you haven't read them recently, you reread chapters 1 through 3. It shouldn't take too long since I have absolutely no talent in writing chapters longer than 2000 words or so.

Standard disclaimers, etc. etc.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4

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"Ah, nice to meet you," I said, bowing and slowly backing away. "Sorry to have interrupted."

"It's all right," Marron answered, with a hint of a blush.

"Listen, sweetie," he began, and Marron and I both reacted, but I held my tongue.

"Yeah, babe?" she answered. I cringed slightly.

"I need to talk to Goten. The sooner the better." My cringe became more severe at his tone, but I rejoiced at the chance to be able to confront him about the note. "Can you wait here? It shouldn't take long."

Marron nodded. "See you tonight, Tora."

He felt around the bed until he found a small pastel-blue shirt, which he tossed back down. "I'll be ready in a second, Goten," he said, walking over to his closet. "Meet me down in front of the building."

As soon as I walked away, the door shut again, and I felt a cold rush against my cheeks, which was either due to the comparatively cool temperature in the hallway or because I was blushing the entire time I was there.

I passed Tracy again on the way out, but didn't stop to say goodbye. Instead, I felt in my pocket to make sure my note was still there. How would I present it? I mulled over my options briefly before he came through the door. He wordlessly walked toward a bench across from a row of violets and sat slowly, pulling out a cigarette and casually lighting it. I rocked from side to side, uneasily anticipating what he had to say.

He took a long drag, and the smoke escaped his lips in awkward clumps. The silence was unbearable. I moved toward him, and he immediately stood up.

"Goten," he began. "You've got to leave me alone."

My hand impulsively clenched in my pocket, crumpling the paper. My lips quivered and I temporarily lost my voice, so I could not immediately retort.

"You are being really clingy, and it's kinda cramping my style. We can hang out sometimes, dude, but I feel like I'm being shadowed. So just, you know, lay off, all right?" His tone was matter-of-fact, but not without a tinge of regret.

Finding my voice, I answered in a near-whisper, "We've only hung out twice since you've come home."

"Yeah, exactly. Twice in two days." He ashed his cigarette and pulled it back to his lips. "I mean, it's good to see you, I guess, but I want to spend time with my family and Marron."

"We used to hang out all the...," I began, but he cut me off.

"Things aren't like the used to be Goten," he shouted, and then, in a calmer voice said, "And I know this isn't about 'hanging out,'"

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, although I had an idea I knew exactly what he meant.

He took another slow drag, and flicked the cigarette to the ground. Exhaling, he answered, "Dammit, Goten. We both know what we used to do." I tensed at this, I knew he hadn't forgotten. "But we were young, and we were fooling around, and we can't do that anymore."

"Why not?" I asked, point-blank, with a new sense of nothing left to lose.

"I'm not gay. I have a girlfriend. I. Don't. Want. To." he answered, in the same matter-of-fact tone I had asked the question in.

"What about,..." I began, my voice hemorrhaging hopefulness.

"Listen," he interrupted, as he sat back down. He patted the space next to him, and I reluctantly took him up on his offer. My hand was still clenched in my pocket, but I knew that there was no point in showing him the note now.

"I have a feeling that, maybe you invested yourself in this a lot more than I did. You're my friend, all right?" I nodded, but hot tears welled up in my eyes. "I'm really sorry that I, I guess, led you on. But you've got to let go, all right?"

I nodded again, automatically, at the phrase "all right."

"Goten, listen," he said again, shakily. "If it will, you know, give you closure, and not just inflame your feelings, I will kiss you one last time."

The figure sitting in front of me, through my unshed tears, was stunningly familiar, as Trunks. Trunks, and not Tora. I could hear him shine through in his voice, as well. I nodded, "OK."

I blinked, and Trunks leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. I kissed back, perhaps overexcitedly. He kissed a little differently now, and I could distinctly taste ash, but the memories flooding back almost knocked me backward. For a few seconds, I was able to return to that simpler time, when Trunks and I were together, and had an untouchable, meaningful relationship. But bringing me firmly back into the present, the kiss was tainted with the reminder that it would be our last.

And all at once, Trunks's hand cupped the back of my head, and he deepened the kiss. My arms wrapped around him loosely as I pressed my tongue against his. Again, my head was reeling, incapable of taking this all in, and yet, it still felt perfectly natural, and even vital. How I could go on, after this, our last kiss, was painful to think about, so I pushed it to the back of my mind. If I could stop thinking, just for the duration of this kiss, I thought. But I also wanted to, somehow, make my memory of this moment stronger, as it might be all that sustains me later.

I let up a bit, letting him take more control, but trying not to let him end it. However, he seemed to take the relax as a cue, and broke the kiss. A whimper escaped my throat, as I looked up into his eyes. The icy-blue pools were already fixed on mine. "Trunks," I gasped, my arms pulling him toward me.

He stood up and broke the embrace. "Tora. I'm Tora, now," he said thickly. "Listen, I..." he began. "I need to go check on Marron. I'll see you around," and he hurried back inside.

--

I took the scenic route home, and though I had fully intended to heed Tora's advice, it was even more difficult not to think about him. "It's a sign of weakness to depend on something so heavily," I said aloud, in an attempt to convince myself. "I wasn't so whiny and clingy when I... had Trunks." I shook my head repeatedly when the thoughts became too intense.

Arriving home after dark, my mom greeted me. "Good evening, Goten... where were you?"  
"Hmm?" I mumbled, looking up to meet her eyes. "Oh, I was at Tora's -- Trunks's."

"Oh, OK. Well, your dinner's in the refrigerator. And I need to do laundry tonight anyway, so go ahead and bring me all of your dirty clothes."  
"Thanks," I said, flashing a hint of a genuine smile. Although in light of recent events I did not have much of an appetite, I went upstairs and changed into pajama pants and a thin, navy t-shirt. I noticed Trunks, or Tora, or whatever his name is, had left a couple of beers with me, and I debated whether I should just leave them there, or use them as an excuse to visit him, or have a pity party for myself and just drink them. I would leave them there for now.

Bringing my dirty clothes downstairs, I peeked in the fridge at what she had prepared for me: meatloaf. Trunks and I both used to love my mom's meatloaf. I still did, mind you. He probably doesn't, I thought to myself. He's changed so much. I sighed aloud and laughed at how smitten I still am, despite myself.

I left the meatloaf for breakfast and trudged back upstairs. I eyed the beer but decided against it; it would likely only make things worse. I closed my eyes tight and remembered what I could of the kiss. I remembered the taste of cigarettes, and the rough almost-clumsiness, and the distinct musk, and in small spurts, it returned to me.

My hand naturally rested atop my hardening member, and I stroked it lightly through my pajamas. "Trunks," I whispered. I pounded the mattress with my fist in anger. "Dammit." I increased the frequency of my strokes, my head began pounding, the images became fuzzier, and, shortly thereafter, I came.

I shook my head as I came back to earth, my middle covered in cum. "This is not the way to get over him," I though to myself. I soon nodded off.

--

The next day, I woke up, dried cum decorating my stomach. I stuck my tongue out, got up, and hopped into the shower. I was almost tempted to pleasure myself again, but refrained. If I am ever to get over him, I thought to myself, that's the first step.

Out of the shower, I opened my closet and saw it was nearly empty. I slipped on a shirt and some shorts, despite it being winter, temporarily, and went downstairs.

"Mom," I called out. No answer. "Mom, I said again." I looked inside the living room, and she was sitting there, reading a slip of paper. "There you are, did you do laund--" I began, but I cut myself off as I recognized the note as Trunks's note to me, the one I had intended to confront him with, and which I had stupidly left in my pants pocket.

"Goten," she said calmly. "We need to talk."

--

End Chapter 4.

One to go!


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